Decorative Holiday Products Targeted to Interfaith Families

Hanukkah Tree Topper: The Pitch

In Season 5, Episode 12 of Shark Tank, Morri Chowaiki approached the Sharks seeking an investment of $50,000 in exchange for 15% equity in ‘Hanukkah Tree Topper’. The company is currently based in San Diego, California.

The Hanukkah Tree Topper, as the name suggests, is a Star of David tree topper designed for use around the holidays. It is meant to fuse both Jewish and Christian cultures together. The product works wonderfully as a Christmas tree topper. This makes it suitable for the millions of Jewish/Christian families that celebrate both holidays.

Morri Chowaiki hits the Sharks straight away with his figures. He states that he had managed to sell 12,000 units online. His product was also being sold in 200 Bed Bath and Beyond stores as well as in an in-flight magazine. This has netted him sales of $150,000 over three years.

Morri claims that he needs the investment in order to further develop the product. He would also use a small amount of the investment to boost storage space which would allow him to keep more inventory to hand.

The majority of the Sharks believe that the Hanukkah Tree Topper is not a viable business. While the tree topper clearly had a market they felt that the sales were far too seasonal. This would make it an incredibly difficult product to market as a completely new campaign would have to be launched each and every year. There would also be a lot of ‘dead time’ where the product was not earning any money at all. Most of the Sharks also believed that there was no scope for expansion in the company. It sold one product. It would be very difficult to spin this product off. This would make it incredibly tough to make their investment back.

Offers Received

Daymond John: $50,000 in exchange for 35% equity in the company. Daymond wishes for the product to be part of a licensing deal. This should hopefully increase the chances that he will be able to recoup his initial investment.

Hanukkah Tree Topper: Result

Morri Chowaiki was more than willing to accept Daymond John’s offer of $50,000 in exchange for 35% equity stake in his company. The funding would allow him to expand the reach of the Hanukkah Tree Topper and hopefully allow additional holiday decorations to the inventory which would ensure that the business is not quite so seasonal.

Hanukkah Tree Topper: Investors

Daymond John prefers to invest in people; not companies. In order to secure an investment with Daymond you’ll need to communicate value as to how it will enrich lives, leverage portfolios or bring in money. Avoid self-fulfillment statements if you want him to take the bait.